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Business Support SimplificationSimplifying Business Support - the Government's Formal Response to the Consultation (19 December 2007)The Government published its formal response to the Business Support Simplification Programme (BSSP) consultation on 19 December, building on the initial response announced as part of the Pre Budget Report on 9 October. The initial response confirmed Business Link as the primary access channel to publicly funded business support and announced a portfolio of 17 business support offers that justified a case for government funding. The follow-up document published on 19 December provides further information on the future arrangements for publicly-funded business support. You can find the full response by clicking here Simplification of Business Support - Pre Budget Report (9 October 2007)Update on the key conclusions of the recent consultation on Simplifying Business Support, as announced in the Government's Pre-Budget Report on Tuesday 9 October. You can find the full response, giving feedback on individual consultation questions, and summaries of the business support offers contained within the portfolio, via the following weblink: www.berr.gov.uk/bbf/small-business/streamlining-government/bssp/page41661.html Read the Simplification Of Business Support – Pre-Budget Report. ( Adobe Acrobat PDF 73Kb, PDF help). Simplifying Business Support: A Consultation(Start: 22nd June 2007 - finish: 14th September 2007) The DTI launched
the Business Support Simplification Programme (BSSP) Consultation The chancellor made a commitment to consult in the 2007 Budget and the consultation seeks views on the business support government might fund in the future. It sets out the role of Business Link as the primary route to publicly-funded business support and seeks views on how Business Link can be developed to play this role. Finally, it seeks views on how to avoid business support schemes proliferating again once they have been simplified. The consultation is aimed at business and their representatives (including social enterprises); local authorities and other public sector organisations; private, public and third sector organisations that are contracted to provide publicly funded support to business. Please click here to read the document and reply by email to SimplifyingBusinessSupport@dti.gov.uk by Friday 14th September 07. It would be helpful if you could copy any response to Ann Johnstone at SEEDA ( annjohnstone@seeda.co.uk) to enable us to understand the thinking in the South East region. Simplifying Business Support: An Introductory Document (April 2007)Margaret Hodge, DTI Minister for Industry and the Regions and Phil Woolas, CLG Minister for Local Government have jointly published an introductory document setting out the aims of a cross-government programme to simplify business support. Click here to read the document on the DTI's Small Business Service website (external Adobe Acrobat PDF 241Kb, PDF help). The programme was established to meet the challenge set in Budget 2006 to reduce the complexity of business support from around 3,000 schemes to fewer than 100 by 2010. Momentum has been building over the past year and a commitment was made in this year's Budget to publish a consultation document on the proposals for the design of the new portfolio of government business support. The consultation will be launched in the summer. The introductory document supports the work that SEEDA, Government Office South East and Local Authorities have underway to bring together all organisations involved in business support to help shape the new portfolio which will provide simpler business support for the future. Many of you will have attended the South East BSSP Stakeholder Event earlier this year on 2nd March which began this work in the region. Please read the document to find out about the programme's aims and reply by email to: simplifyingBusinessSupport@dti.gov.uk to share your views and express your interest to be involved. It would be helpful if you could copy any response to Ann Johnstone at SEEDA by email: annjohnstone@seeda.co.uk to enable us to understand the thinking in the South East region. Please feel free to cascade this document as you think fit. Case Study: Partnership between business advisors in HastingsHastings Borough Council (HBC) has developed a productive long-term partnership with local business support agencies, through a Jobs and Business Growth group, under the Hastings and Bexhill Economic Alliance. From its early days, this group recognised that businesses face a plethora of support and advice. While each agency does an immensely valuable job in its own field, the very complexity of this framework limits overall effectiveness, and at worst could confuse businesses. The partners in the group include Business Link, 1066 Enterprise (the local enterprise agency), SEEDA, the Chamber of Commerce, Sea Space (the regeneration company) plus Hastings Borough and Rother District Councils. Even with this level of expertise, it became clear that no-one had complete knowledge of all the support available. Hence the first action was to map the publicly-funded provision available to local businesses. This was undertaken by HBC’s Economic Development department in 2005. The mapping identified 46 separate services offered by 16 different agencies in addition to the suite of provision offered by Business Link. These were mapped on a matrix showing the kind of support (e.g. grants, advice areas, mentoring, networking) and the target businesses (e.g. start-ups, high-growth, different sectors, minority-run, social enterprise). The work revealed a low level of duplication, and few strategic gaps in provision, but confirmed the potential for confusion amongst businesses about where to go for relevant support. As a result, partners committed to a ‘no wrong door’ approach: involving co-ordination ‘behind the scenes’ to ensure that whichever local agency a business approaches, they can easily be put in touch with the most appropriate service. The business matrix is shared by all partners, is regularly updated, and is now (2007) being put into printed form by Hastings Enterprise Hub. In parallel, the group developed and promoted the ‘Single Number’ – a 0845 number connecting to Business Link, whose team are able to connect people directly to the most appropriate business support agency. This has been publicised county-wide, and is headlined on relevant web-pages. These initiatives were especially valuable as they came at a time of increasing business and enterprise development effort in Hastings. To stimulate business growth, Sea Space established the Hastings & Bexhill Enterprise Hub and e-Biz Centre to give advice and support; and built a Creative Media Centre and Hastings Innovation Centre to accommodate new businesses. Sussex Enterprise is leading on the creation of an Enterprise Gateway in the area, and has placed a Business Link advisor permanently in Hastings. HBC recently obtained LEGI (Local Enterprise Growth Initiative) funding for a programme to include innovative approaches to business and entrepreneurship growth, and skills development, benefiting deprived areas. The programme was tailored to target aspects and areas that existing business support did not. Six out of the eighteen projects are being delivered by, or with, Business Link and 1066 Enterprise. Efforts are being made to ensure maximum co-ordination and added value between all the projects. The Jobs and Business Growth group recognises that a one-size-fits-all approach will not meet the diverse needs of Hastings and Bexhill businesses. This effort towards more effective targeting and tailoring of services, highlights the need for effective partnership both at the strategic level, and in terms of close co-ordination of efforts on the ground.
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